Female body fat percentage

mrkdips

Utterly shocked to hear my body fat is 46 percent. I know normal for female is 32 percent. How do I decrease it to below that - the reason I ask is I lost over four stone a number of years ago and my % went down to only 38. I was ten stone and thought it would b well below at that stage

Tayla

You should google 'skinny fat' which might explain to you why you had such a high body fat % when you dropped down to 10 stone.

You didn't say what height you are but if you had that % of body fat @ 10 stone you must have had very little lean muscle, if you had worked on gaining muscle at the time that would have been brilliant for your body and would have helped to keep your weight down.

How was your body fat measured? Sometimes it is not very accurate.

Also just wanted to add that 32% of body fat isn't really normal at all as anything over 32% of body fat is considered obese (in body fat terms)

Hannibal Smith

Hope you don't mind if I jump in here with a question.

Does that mean if you lose weight through diet but don't exercise, you're losing fat but not building muscle and anything over the weight you should be is fat? So if you exercise you're building muscle and losing fat?

Stench Blossoms

If you lose weight by cutting calories, not getting enough protein and not working out you'll lose fat yes but also muscle making you 'skinny fat'.

cmyk

mrkdips wrote: »

Utterly shocked to hear my body fat is 46 percent. I know normal for female is 32 percent. How do I decrease it to below that - the reason I ask is I lost over four stone a number of years ago and my % went down to only 38. I was ten stone and thought it would b well below at that stage

Your goal when dieting should be to hold on to as much lean mass as you can, with as much of your weight loss coming from your fat stores as possible. With that in mind eating adequate protein and introducing some form of resistance training are your best options.

As I did in another thread, go and find the answers to these and we can take it from there...

1. Are you getting enough protein to support muscle grow and/or muscle maintenance.
2. Are you eating enough vegetables and fruits
3. Are you getting the correct amount of calories to support fat loss?

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Does that mean if you lose weight through diet but don't exercise, you're losing fat but not building muscle and anything over the weight you should be is fat? So if you exercise you're building muscle and losing fat?

There are only a few groups of the general population that can build muscle and lose fat at the same time, as above though you do want to hold on to as much muscle as you can for several reasons.

Hannibal Smith

By proper calories do you mean pasta and the likes? why are calories important?

Stench Blossoms

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

By proper calories do you mean pasta and the likes? why are calories important?

Read the stickies.

cmyk

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Why are calories important?

If you're genuinely starting at that point, then as suggested, have a read of the stickies here.

Or go and find the answers to the 3 questions above using google or searching the forum...then come back with any other questions.

Hannibal Smith

I'm not starting at that point...I've done pretty well running and losing weight the part four months through a diet plan and diy exercise plan. I was just seeing if there was anything else I could be doing...but I'll just stick to my own regime.

Of course I could Google, but googling yields the same results as asking in a forum, so why not ask where you have direct access to people who know.

No offence or inconvenience intended.

Stench Blossoms

If you are asking why calories are important and mentioning pasta in the same sentence then you really should start from the beginning and read the stickies.

cmyk

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I'm not starting at that point...I've done pretty well running and losing weight the part four months through a diet plan and diy exercise plan. I was just seeing if there was anything else I could be doing...but I'll just stick to my own regime.

Good work, proof the basics work.

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Of course I could Google, but googling yields the same results as asking in a forum, so why not ask where you have direct access to people who know.

By your own admittance you were seeing if there was anything else you could do...or I'd imagine, do more optimally? By researching those questions, it'll lead you to reading a little about why I asked them and why the answers are important...and may yield better/faster results.

Hannibal Smith

Will Google and try and find answers elsewhere so.

Stench Blossoms

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

Will Google and try and find answers elsewhere so.

You could start a new thread, give some history, post your height, weight, current diet and training routine and we can offer you advice.

mrkdips

Hi all
Thanks for all the comments and tips.

I had lost the weight over a year period with lots of exercise and concentrating on protein and greens and minimal carbs. I was v fit and had good muscle tone because of the exercise. Problem is I am just over 5 foot 2 inches so there lies te issue really - Looking at the "ideal" height to weight ratio I should be around 8 - 8.5 stone which personally I don't think is right for me at all.

After watching the program on RTE last night called "what Irish people eat" I am frecked out over fat rate

Hannibal Smith

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

You could start a new thread, give some history, post your height, weight, current diet and training routine and we can offer you advice.

Because I'm happy enough with my diet, so far. All I wanted to know was what proper calories were so I could make sure to factor them in. But I misread the post as 'correct calories' instead of 'correct amount of calories' and therein lies the problem.

Either way, I did google and found runningworld.com so will have a read and refer to that for information

cmyk

mrkdips wrote: »

I had lost the weight over a year period with lots of exercise and concentrating on protein and greens and minimal carbs. I was v fit and had good muscle tone because of the exercise.

That sounds reasonable...depending on what you mean by both 'lots of exercise' and 'minimal' carbs. You seem to be talking in past tense with regard your weight loss?

Also how was your bodyfat actually measured on both occasions, it mightn't be truly representative of your loss?

mrkdips wrote: »

Problem is I am just over 5 foot 2 inches so there lies te issue really - Looking at the "ideal" height to weight ratio I should be around 8 - 8.5 stone which personally I don't think is right for me at all.

Are you still following the above approach and is your weight still coming down?

mrkdips wrote: »

After watching the program on RTE last night called "what Irish people eat" I am frecked out over fat rate

Not sure what you mean by this, but if you mean it ought to serve as a bit of an eye opener then I'd agree. There's a lot of people who genuinely don't realise just how many calories are in the common meals and portion sizes they are putting away.

mrkdips

Also how was your bodyfat actually measured on both occasions, it mightn't be truly representative of your loss?



Are you still following the above approach and is your weight still coming down?



Not sure what you mean by this, but if you mean it ought to serve as a bit of an eye opener then I'd agree. There's a lot of people who genuinely don't realise just how many calories are in the common meals and portion sizes they are putting away.[/QUOTE]

Eye opener it sure is - don't get me wrong we all know the failings of bad eating but some of the items on that program were shocking

My fat. Percent measurement was taken on one of those scales that measures it as well as actual weight and fluids and lean muscle.

I have had a lot of hassle with weight in past few years and it. Has crept up a lot and is a cause of great despair for me although I think I do all the right things like exercise watch what I eat

colossus-x

mrkdips wrote: »

Utterly shocked to hear my body fat is 46 percent. I know normal for female is 32 percent. How do I decrease it to below that - the reason I ask is I lost over four stone a number of years ago and my % went down to only 38. I was ten stone and thought it would b well below at that stage

The answer is to keep doing what you did when you lost the 4 stones if the reason for it was that you were eating a healthy diet and not because of say some trauma.

I'd be very concerned if the 'normal' female body fat is a high as 32 percent. Do you realize what you are saying is that nigh on 1/3 of of a woman's body is pure fat. Maybe you are talking national averages which would make more sense - which is very high.

46 percent bodyfat is extremely high - that's half your body is pure fat.
I'd suggest seeking out good nutritional advice. Maybe ask your GP for a referal to a nutritionist ( if such a service exists in this country ) or failing that do yourself a big favour and educate yourself - easily done online. Google it.

cmyk

mrkdips wrote: »

Eye opener it sure is - don't get me wrong we all know the failings of bad eating but some of the items on that program were shocking

Yep, there's also another excellent series on channel 4 'secret eaters', you can catch episodes on their youtube channel.

mrkdips wrote: »

My fat. Percent measurement was taken on one of those scales that measures it as well as actual weight and fluids and lean muscle.

Ok, notoriously inaccurate so don't put too much faith in the fact you only lost a few%...4 stone is a substantial loss.

mrkdips wrote: »

I have had a lot of hassle with weight in past few years and it. Has crept up a lot and is a cause of great despair for me although I think I do all the right things like exercise watch what I eat :

Ok, well let's have a look at what your daily diet (food and drink) consists of, being honest. Also what sort of exercise you're currently doing or enjoyed doing before...see if we can get you on track again.

thegreatiam

mrkdips wrote: »

Hi all
Thanks for all the comments and tips.

I had lost the weight over a year period with lots of exercise and concentrating on protein and greens and minimal carbs. I was v fit and had good muscle tone because of the exercise. Problem is I am just over 5 foot 2 inches so there lies te issue really - Looking at the "ideal" height to weight ratio I should be around 8 - 8.5 stone which personally I don't think is right for me at all.

After watching the program on RTE last night called "what Irish people eat" I am frecked out over fat rate

so you dont actually know your bodyfat %?
how did you find it out?